Lumber or pipe carrying rig



April 1946 N. F. WATKINS 25,399,304.

- LUMBER OR PIPE CARRYING RIG Filed March 5, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I IEII mp1 1 I I 3nnent0r '52. 53 N.F. Wa l-kins '(Ittoncgs April 30, 1946. I w K s 2,399,304 7 LUMBER OR 'PIPE CARRYING RIG Fil ed March 5', 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Pie. 3

Snventor NSF. Watkins Gttorncgs Patented Apr. 30, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT former:

' 1 j 2399,304 I LUMBEROR'PIPEICARRYINGBIG' NathanFranklin WatkinspYormAla. 7 Application March- 5, 1945', serial-No. 581,091?

' 2 Claims. (01. 2144-653) The. invention relates generally to carrying. rig structures" and primarily seeksito provide a simple and inexpensively manufactured rigadaptedi'for easily lifting, securely holding, and transporting elongated objects such as pipe or lumber.

Considerable difficulty is experienced in the handling and transporting of elongated objects such'jas'logs, pipe or'undressed lumber'because of the great. weight of said objects and the tendency of'the individual" objects to move relatively to one another. At times it is necessary to. move such objects short distances only, and it is obviously impractical? and wasteful of'labor to' load the objects onto, and again. unload them from high platform trucks or comparable transporting, media. It is therefore. an object. of. the invention. to. provide a rig} of the character stated having, provision forv carrying the. logs, pipe. or other. elongated. objects in. underslung fashion permitting transportation of said objects with. a. minimumof necessary lifting, said rig, including longitudinallyspaced inverted U-shaped means against. which a collected pile or grouping of the objects canbe securely clamped in a manner assuring, against; objectionable; relative movement of the object units.

Another object of the invention is to provide a rig of the character stated including a rotatably mounted large diameter drum, means on the drum for securing the ends of a chain looped downwardly about a collected pile or grouping of elongated objects, an elongated drum rocking lever secured at one end to the drum, and a cable attached to the free end of the lever and wound about a winch and effective to control the positioning of the lever and the resulting lifting or lowering of the chain looped objects.

With the above and other objects in view that will hereinafter appear, the nature of th invention will be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description, the appended claims, and the several views illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view illustrating the improved lifting and transporting rig.

Figure 2 is a side elevation illustrating the relation of the parts prior to lifting of the group of elongated objects.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 illustrating the relation of the parts after the group of elongated objects has been lifted and secured against the cradles.

Figure 4 is a rear elevation.

In the example of embodiment of the invention herein disclosedjthere is included a supporting. andjdraft frame structure includingtwo forwardly converging beams 5 and a central longitudinalf'draft tube. 6, the latter having a 1 downwardly :turnedleg; I at its forward end which terminates'in a forwardlydirected tractor dra'ft'connection 8. The beams 5 andithe' tube 6' are reinforced by horizontally, transversely disposed beams 9 at the rear of the rig, and also intermediately by a transversebeam I'll. Sidemembers llsuitably bra'ce'd and". depending vertically from the laterally disposed ends of the cross beams 9 cooperate. with said. beams in forming an inverted U-shaped cradle generally designated I21 Side members l3 depending vertically from. the laterally. disposed ends of the beam [0" cooperate with said beam informing an inverted U-shaped cradle generally. designated M; It willb observed by reference to Figures 2 and 4 of the. drawings that the cradles I2- and 14' are disposed. in longitudinally spaced relation.

Supplemental longitudinally disposed and par.-

. allelrspaced'reinf orcing'members l5 are provided and'fi'xed at. their. rear ends. to the transverse members 9' and..at..their front endsto, theframe beams 5, and it will'b'e apparent by reference to Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings that ad-' ditional angularly disposed longitudinal members l6 and I! are connected between the cradles I2 and I4 and between the cradle l4 and the beams 5 respectively for reinforcing the frame structure, and particularly the cradles.

A large diameter drum I8 is rockably mounted in bearings l9 upported on the frame members l5, and it will be apparent by reference to Fi ures 2 and 3 of the drawings that the pivot centers about which the drum rocks are disposed in off-center relation to the periphery of the drum.

A rocking lever 2| is secured to the drum in a manner for projecting radially therefrom, and the free end of the lever has attached thereto a cable 22 which is Wound about and secured to the winding drum 23 of a conventional winch structure generally designated 24. The winch structure is supported as at 25 on the framing and includes th usual turning crank 26 and locking pawl 21.

The frame structure formed as hereinbefore described is supported on wheels 28 which are mounted at the lower ends of the upright members H of the cradle [2.

A hook member 29 is secured to the drum at one side thereof, and an anchor pin 30 is secured 3| thereunder and adjustable attachment of the chain to the hook and pin equipments 29, 30 on the drum. After the chain has been suitably looped under the pile of elongated obje ts and attached to the drum, the crank 26 of the winch is turned so as to wind the cable 22 and move the lever 2| from the position illustrated in Figure 2 to the position illustrated in Figure 3. This movement of the lever serves to turn the drum l8 about its off-center pivotal mounting 20, and

the resulting winding of the looped chain 3i will.

lift 'the group of elongated objects from the'position illustrated in Figure 2 to the position illus trated in Figure 3 wherein they will be securely held withinand against the longitudinal spaced cradles l2 and It. The pawl 21 is adjusted tosecure the condition of parts illustrated in Figure '3.

With the objects lifted off the ground and secured against the cradles l2 and M in the man'- ner illustrated in Figur 3 the rig can be attached to a tractor or" other hauling deviceand thesecuredgroup of objects can be transported as de-' sired. After the rig has been drawn to the place at which the group of objects is to be deposited the pawl 21 can be released and by suitably turning the crank 26 the load may be lowered from the position illustrated in Figure 3 onto the ground or other suitable supporting means. i

It will be apparent that by reason of the provision of the large diameter drum, lever and winch equipments, the lifting of heavy loads of the character described can be effected with ease, and by reason of the off-center mounting of'the drum, the actual lifting of the rod is effected much more rapidly than would be the case if a smaller or centered drum wereused;

While one form of the invention has been shown for purposes of illustration, it is to be clearly understood that various changes in the details of construction and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A rig for lifting and transporting elongated objects comprising, a wheeled supporting frame including two longitudinally spaced inverted U- shaped cradles, a chain disposed'intermediately of said cradles for looping under a group of elongated objects straddled by the cradles, a drum rockable about an off center axis, means for at tackling the looped chain to the drum, a lever secured to and projecting from the drum, and cable winding winch means and a cable wound about the winch and connected with the free end of the lever for swinging the lever to turn the drum in a manner for elevating the looped chain' and drawing the object group on "the ground and againstfthe cradles, and means for securing the lever to the chain elevating position. v

2. A rig for lifting and transporting elongated objects comprising a wheeled supporting frame including two longitudinally spaced inverted U-' shaped cradles; a chaindisposed intermediately of said cradles for looping under a group of elongated objects straddled by the cradles, a drum rockable about an off center axis, mean for attaching the looped chain to the drum; a lever secured to and projecting from the drum," and ca-' ble winding'winch means'and a cable wou'nd about the winch and connected with the free end of the lever for swinging the lever to turn the drum in a manner for elevating thelooped chainand drawing'the object group off the ground and against'the cradles, and means for securing the:

: lever tothe, chain elevating position, said chain attaching means comprising hook and pinmeans carried by the drum whereon links of the chaincan be removably and adjustably attached. 1

NATHAN FRANKLIN WATKlNSlf' 

